Ice cubes get smart

There is nothing quite like having a nice drink at the end of the day with good company, but if you happen to lack some self-control, the conversation at your table would get boisterous and some might even say, nonsensical along the way. Well, if you are one who drives home alone, it would be better if you had brought along a designated driver as it would be far too foolish to endanger not only yourself but others on the road when you have taken in one drink too many. Well, just what other inventions can we look forward to that are able to help us get home safe and sound despite having our fair share of fun and drinks? Trust a brainy boffin over at MIT, a specific Dhairya Dand in particular, to come up with a set of “ice cubes” which are capable of keeping track of how much you have drunk during the evening, where it will flash red to inform you that you have had too much to drink.

This set of glowing cubes after was specially designed to monitor a person’s alcohol intake, where it will change color from green to red as the alcohol intake increases, so that one has a visual cue as to when to stop. I am rather skeptical of this, as the person him or herself might feel that they are far from their limit, and would not need the warning light. After all, how many of us have run a red light because we figured out we could be fast enough? What is there to prevent one from doing the same when it comes to drinking?

Well, I guess at the end of the day, something is still better than nothing, and each cube is comprised of a colored LED, an accelerometer, IR receivers, and a battery, and these have been molded into an edible, waterproof jelly so that the circuitry remains protected without affecting the drink’s taste. The accelerometer is able to calculate the number of sips a person takes, comparing it with a timer in order to estimate one’s level of intoxication while changing the flashing LED’s color accordingly. With the different alcohol levels in individual drinks, there is still plenty of work to be done before these smart ice cubes are perfected, but they are a start to begin with.